Adam lungen



(No Model.)

A. LUNGEN.

ELECTRIC GUT-OUT. No. 341,384. Patented May 4, 1886.

fiz Vezz far UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADAM LDNGEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO EDWARDS & (30., OF

SAME YLAOE.

ELECTRIC CUT-OUT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 341,384, dated May 4. 188 6.

Application filed January 26, 1815. Serial No. 189,777. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ADAM Li'INGEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of .New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Gut Outs; of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to an automatic electric. cut-out, and is to be used with that class of electrical devices which are connected in open circuit, and is for the purpose of opening the circuit in which it is connected should it accidentally be left closed for too long a period of time. p j

It consists of a centrally-pivoted tube terminating at each end in a hollow bulb or sphere, thetube forming a channel or passage to connect the interior of the two bulbs. These bulbs are made to contain enough fluid to just fill one of them. The device is so pivoted that the fluid will form a balance and will control the position of the pivoted tube accordingly as the fluid is forced from one bulb to the other, and the movement of the tube is made to operate an electric cut-out. The fluid is caused to shift from one end of the tube to the other by means of gas generated in one of the bulbs from the fluid by causing the electric circuit to pass through a conductor within the bulb of such resistance that it will become heated by the passage of the current, the balancing fluid being so volatile as to easily be converted into gas. It is further necessary to provide for the return of the balanced tube to its origi nal position by so construct-ing the bulbs and connecting them that the fluid may be readily returned to the bulb from which it has been driven by the gas. This part of my invention will be more fully described hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my device. Fig. 2 is an end view. Fig. 3 is a section through the bulb through which the electric circuit isinade to pass, and Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating the manner of returning the fluid to its first position after it has operated the cut-out or other device.

A B are hollowbulbs, preferably of glass, and connected by their lower sides to a tube, 0. This tube 0 ispivoted between two standards, D D, projecting upward from a base- 7 piece, E, preferably by means of' clampingpieces F F, made to embrace the tube at its central part, andheld together by screws ff, and having trunnions G G, projecting therefrom through hearings in the standards D D.

Mounted within the bulb A, and with its ends projecting therefrom, is a conductor, H,

of such a resistance that when connected in the electric circuit with which it is to be used it will become heated, and I preferably make this conductor in the form of a loop, as shown. It may be found of advantage to form two or'even more loops in this conductor, (see Fig. 3,) and these loops may be connected in the circuit either in series or in multiple circuit. This, however, will be determined by the strength of the current with which'tliefieviceis to be used.

Within the bulbs A B and the tube 0 is contained a volatile fluid, preferably bisulphide of carbon, in quantity enough to fill one of the bulbs and the tube C,and the surplus space is exhausted of air. I

The switching or cut-out mechanism may be of any simple form that may be connected with and operated by the balanced tube and its bulbs as they swing on their pivoted bearing; but I prefer to make it as shown in Figs.

1 and 2,wherein I K are strips of spring metalv ward to such a height that it will engage a projecting arm or pin, L, attached to the trunnion G, so that as the latter turns on its bearings the arm L will bear upon and force the spring K from its bearing upon the spring I. These springs I K are connected so as to be includedin the electric circuitpassing through the loop in the bulb A.

An index-pointer, 0, may be mounted upon one of the trunnions G, so that its free end will be swung around by the movement of the tube 0 and the bulbs, and indicate by the direction in which it points whether the circuit is opened or closed at the spring K.

The operation of my device is as follows: Suppose the fluid to be in the bulb A and that end of the tube 0 to be depressed by reason of the weight of the fluid, the spring-contact I K closed and in metallic circuit with the conductor within the bulb A. If, now, the circuit be closed and a current sent through the conductor in A it will becomeheated and a portion of the volatile fluid will, by reason of the heat, be volatilized, and the gas so generated will gradually fill the bulb A and force the remaining fluid over through the tube G into the bulb B, where it will, by its weight, force down the bulb B and rotate the tube 0 on its bearing. The pin or arm L upon the trunnion G will, during this movement of the tube 0, strike against the upper part of the contact'spring K and force it over so as to break the circuit between the springs I and K. The conductor If, within the bulbs A, must be of such a length and resistance that the heat generated therein by the current will so act on the fluid as to require a short space of time before there is enough gas generated to force the fluid over to open the circuit,so that for all ordinary usessuch as ringing a bell or operating an annunciatorthe current may act without necessarily operating the cut-out; but should the circuit be accidentally closed the cut-out will act before the battery used in the circuit has time to become exhausted. After the fluid has been driven over and the cut-out has done its work, the fluid must be returned to its first position in the bulb A. This may be done by placing a second conductor within the bulb B, and so arranging the switches that when the main circuit is opened the current may be connected through the conductor in the bulb B to generate gas therein and force the fluid back. This, however, will necessarily be slow, owing to the gas already formed in the bulb A, which will take some time to condense; and to obviate this difliculty I provide for the return of the fluid by hand by adding a cross-tube, M, connecting the upper part of the bulb B with the lower part of the bulb A. This connectingtube M will not interfere with the forcing the fluid over from the bulb A to the bulb B, but will, when the fluid is in the bulb B and the device tilted up, as shown in Fig. 4, allow the gas to flow over from the bulb A to B as it is replaced by the fluid passing back through devices wherein an electric circuit is used to operate signaling apparatus.

What I-claim as my invention isw 1. In an electric cut-out or analogous device, the combination, with an electric circuit, of a balanced lever, two hollow bulbs mounted thereon connected the one with the other and containing volatile fluid, a conducting-loop formed within one of the bulbs and connected within the electric circuit, and a switch or cut-out, also connected within the electric circuit and adapted to be optrated to break said circuit by the movement of the balanced lever, caused by the shifting of the volatile fluid from one bulb to the other, substantially as set forth.

2. In an electric cut-out or analogous device, a pivoted lever adapted by its movement to operate a cut-out or switch mechanism,said lever actuated by the movement of a volatile fluid forced from one to the other of two hollow bulbs mounted upon the lever, through the heating, by an-electrie current, of a conductor passing through one of the bulbs, substantially as set forth. v

3. In an automatic electric cut-out or analogous device, the combination, with an electric switch and with a rocking lever to operate said switch, oftwo hollow bulbs mounted on the lever and connected the one with the other by a double connection, one connection running from bottom to bottom of the bulbs and the other connection running from the bottom of one bulb to the top of the other, the firstnamed bulb made to iuc ose an electric conductor connected within the circuit to be governed, and a volatile fluid partly filling the two bulbs, the whole arranged and operated as set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York.

ADAM Li'INGEN.

\Vitnesses:

J AOOB FELBEL, ANDREW W. S'rmo ER. 

